May 19, 2009

After dealing with ticks for the last few weeks, it's nice to see that
Jason is having a chicken coop built. Our hope is that we not only have
a natural way to get rid of bugs, weeds, and even create fertizlier but
that we also have a source of eggs and meat when the time comes. Katie
suggested we call it the Egg McMansion. 

(Frankie continues work on a coop that will hold around 50 chickens)

May 18, 2009

After weeks of tilling, planting, and constant weeding we finally had
some sprouts! Though there certainly has been no shortage of rain as
late, our number one concern still remains water capture. Slowly we
began to collect water barrels and totes and now have approximately
1000 gallons of storage capacity. 

Thanks to Frankie we also now have a platform to raise the barrels
off the ground so we can gravity feed the water onto the fields. Water
will flow from the roof of our shed and trickle into the barrels from a
gutter system we are currently designing. 

Apparently i have a problem with sitting still. Because starting a one of a kind catering company, that includes a farm and biodiesel conversion facility, isn't enough work...i've bought and am greening a new home near downtown Raleigh. I expect it's going to be mostly about hard work and not about actual training since i don't know squat about renovation...much more than the everyday basics. I'm hoping to learn a great deal and i'm almost positive i'll learn the hard way.

After a particularly chatty workout the other night i found myself in a conversation about one of my favorite topics...the future of alternative energy plans. My friend Carolyn told me how proud she was of Berkley, CA for the recent passing of a rather unique plan to involve more residents in solar power systems for their houses. It sort of sounds like a sales pitch, "Hey city resident. Do you wish you could involve yourself in the greening of our community but worry it costs too much money? What if you could do it for no money?". But actually, that's exactly what it is. Here it is officially:

Berkeley going solar - city pays up front, recoups over 20 years
Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer

The summer of 08' will forever be referred to by me as the "Summer of Green". Right as my partners and I launched a sustainably focused business it seemed nobody could get enough of "going green", "triple bottom line businesses, "sustainable ventures", etc. etc. What's the name of this website we're currently on again?

Nancy Hickling will be guiding us through her adventure on the path to going green. She'll blog regularly about things she's noticed, ask questions about the legitimacy of certain products, and request feedback on environmental principles. From someone who is out of touch with the "green" world, we'll get to watch as she faces all the obstacles and learns to share our passions.

"Mom. Dad. I know that you've gotten to know me over my lifetime as, well, a care-free, floater who accepted everyone but didn't know where he fit in. Someone who worked hard, no matter what, but just hadn't found passion. But i sat you down to let you, my loving 25-year Navy veteran father; and you mom, the retired teacher/minister know...that...ummm...i'm green."

When I turn on the tv every morning it inevitably ends up on the news.
Mostly I'm listening and getting ready at the same time and something
caught my ear today. I believe the channel landed on The Today Show or
some other useless entertainment and they were discussing kids having
weight loss operations. Was it safe? Why was it happening more
frequently? Was it parenting? A lack of discipline with fast foods?

As I sat watching the us open last night, I started thinking about how
golf was seemingly a very green sport. Every player walks. There are
only two people per team (the caddy). And then it struck me...that's about it. While
thinking of more great things golf does that are green I began to think
of how aweful it actually was. An enormous amount of water is used to
keep the constantly trampled sod looking perfect. The
sod takes an aweful lot of mowing, Trimming, man power and employees.
Then there is the clubhouse, guests who drive their own cars from all